


Game Over.

by Lauren_is_a_moron



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, End of the World, With A Twist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-25 23:57:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14988326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lauren_is_a_moron/pseuds/Lauren_is_a_moron
Summary: Betty Cooper's life is about to end at the hands of Oxcite75600-0998 or "Nemesis" an asteroid that's scheduled to hit the earth in five minutes, wiping out life as she knows it. She ends up sitting on Jughead's rusty old jeep with her arms around her seventeen-year-old husband she decided to marry because why not, and her two best friends, while they wait for the end. Except something's not quite right. Kevin Keller's disappearance still baffles her, and she's still thinking about it the moment the asteroid hits. Except the end brings something else. Something she wasn't expecting. How do you continue a relationship with someone, when everything you've ever known was a lie?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in one night. The idea came to me when I was watching The End Of The Fucking World (which has no connection to this fic lmao) There is a pretty huge twist, so I can't reveal many characters, eep. But I hope you enjoy! :D
> 
> (This is only partially edited, so I’m sorry for any typos!)

  
_Kevin._

I should be thinking about him. I know I should because it hurts. It still fucking hurts. He hurt me. Just - leaving like that. Not even saying goodbye to anyone. Not even his own father. One night he'd just...disappeared. Gone. Poof. Whatever word you want to use. The point was: Kevin Keller didn't get to share this moment with us. This monumental moment that I never thought would actually happen. It sounds like the kind of thing Jughead mumbles about during pillow talk, while I pretend I'm listening when in actuality, I'm thinking about my homework due next day, or if Archie and Veronica are in serious trouble of becoming teen parents. The End Of The Fucking World. I'm sixteen years old, and I get to watch the world end. And what's killing me inside, is that Kevin doesn't. Kevin is probably in a ditch somewhere, as gross at that is to think. His case has gone cold with no leads. Nothing to tell us if he was dead or alive, but something- some nagging feeling in the back of my skull told me he was gone. It's like a spiritual feeling of release. I don't feel him with me anymore if that makes sense. Like he's been yanked out of my world far too early.

_But in minutes, I'll join him._

My name is Elizabeth Jones Cooper, and I should be scared of dying. That is when the meteorite that I hadn't known existed until yesterday- hits. I should be scared of the endless void of nothingness I'm going to be thrown into. But instead, all I can think about is my best friend as I stare into a starry night, watching Riverdale go crazy, as the news headlines screech that the end is near. Which is true. Maybe Kevin had a lucky escape. He doesn't have to witness this. The Earth's death. Though he would love it. I know he would, the little nerd. I smile a little, despite myself. Though I wish I had closure. I wish I knew if he died alone, scared. Probably calling out for his father. Or did he take his own life? Was my best friend suffering in silence? I'll never know.

The sky isn't totally black; it's a funny shade of Grey. And there are these stars that I'm sure are not supposed to be there. They blink down at me, at us; our little group sprawled out on the top of the roof of Jughead's old beaten up jeep. Archie drove us all the way up the hill by Sweetwater to get the best view to watch our world burn, while we perished with it. Mom wanted me to be with her when it happened. But I didn't want to sit at home and listen to her crying, to dad's moaning, and Polly's praying. I wanted out.

So here we are. I'm with my boyfriend turned husband, as of this morning and my two best friends. And fuck it; Kev's here in spirit. I try and imagine him sitting with us, his arm slung around me. His stupid smile, shining eyes. My own sting with tears and I blink them away. I hate him for leaving me.

Leaving us.

The Four Musketeers minus Kevin Keller was like Hell without Satan or Heaven without God. Though I've never believed in any of them, so I don't know why I'm using that analogy, but screw it. End of the world, right? Anything goes. Jughead and Archie proposed yesterday, exactly three and a half minutes after the initial announcement that we were all going to be blown to pieces. The wedding took place this morning, in Sweet Water river. The boy's wanted to go as adventurous as possible, so Veronica and I let them. We wore our prom dresses, and I made crowns out of dandelions for all four of us, as if we were kids again. Mom didn't like any of it, but the world was going to end, so she didn't have long to be disappointed with me. Jughead and Archie wore suits, and all four of us waded into the freezing depths of Sweetwater in the middle of October and mumbled vows that Veronica had found on Google. It wasn't a proper ceremony. But it was ours. It felt right. So now, I'm a newly married seventeen-year-old girl waiting to die. I guess this our joint honeymoon? Kevin would have loved it. He really, really would have loved it. I keep expecting him to pop up behind me, with that goofy grin on his face.

Except when I turn around, hope to flare in my gut, only the soft breeze greets me, grazing my face. It feels good. I turn back when Archie stops singing. My heart stutters in my chest, and I lose my breath. He's got a habit of doing that. Every so often, he stops singing and checks his watch. The impact is at exactly 9:30 PM.

It's edging closer to the time, and I realize I've barrelled through various emotions throughout the day. Hope. When NASA launched one last attempt to destroy the meteor. Anger. When they failed. Fear. When mom cried into my chest. Now? I just feel... _numb._

I don't feel anything. Apart from random spikes of panic when Archie stops singing along to Wonderwall that's crackling out of Jughead's crappy stereo in the jeep.

Jughead lets out a soft sigh, his grip tightening on me as if he can protect me from an asteroid. Yeah right. Though I feel like a kid again. And damn, does it feel great.

The four of us sit, our legs are dangling, our arms around each other while our breath flickers in wisps of white in the chill. It's kind of beautiful. I have Jughead's jacket thrown over my shoulders, and he leans into me, his head buried in my shoulder. I'm far too calm. No, we are too calm. Jughead is laughing with Veronica about something I'm not totally sure of, and Archie is singing loudly. Some AC/DC song that's now blasting on the radio. Better than Wonderwall.  It's the only station that's not playing panicked news bulletins and prayers for the world. I prefer music. It's the perfect soundtrack to send us into sweet, sweet oblivion.

But it's funny. I incline my head, frowning at the stretch of grey above us. Everything seems almost fake. The stars in the sky look like stage lights, the moon looks like a damn prop. I can't help shivering. Though I don't regret what I'm wearing; the best end of the world outfit I could find. My Minnie Mouse Pajama shorts and a sweater. I'm still wearing my crown. It sits wonkily on my head of unbrushed blonde curls that I've fashioned into childish pigtails. I figured since I'm going to die, I don't have to continue being the perfect girl next door. I can just be me. Totally mundane. Nothing special. Nothing amazing. I'm just another girl who didn't make a mark.

I'm weirdly okay with that.

Veronica is first to point it out. What I've been dreading all day. The thing is, it'll never go away. I can't...stop it? I can't change anything. That's what terrifies me. I lift my head, tipping it back. My pigtails tickle my back, and Jughead chuckles.

"Right on time, right?" He murmurs softly. I can sense the fear in his tone. He's not that great at hiding it. I grab for his hand and entangle our fingers. His wedding ring catches my eye, and I want to laugh. Because it's so bizarre, yet so right. Jug doesn't take his eyes off of the sky. And it's at that moment when I realize, tears once again springing to my eyes. I don't want to die. I don't want to die! I let my gaze linger on Jughead, and wonder just how I got so damn lucky to get a guy like him. We've known each other since we were kids, but little Betty Cooper was starry-eyed for Archie Andrews, who had never and would never be interested. I'd never truly seen Jughead, until Sophomore year. Until he invited me to prom, until we investigated Kevin's disappearance together and ended up making out in the back of a cop car, after trying to break into the Keller house. I remember feeling dead, senseless. Torn apart by my best friend's sudden disappearance. But Jughead had hugged me tight, buried his head in my neck, before confessing his feelings for me, that dated back to when we were still in Kindergarten.

The rest is history. That night, I stopped thinking about Kevin. I only thought about Jughead and his kisses, his hand caressing my cheek, my neck, streaking through my hair.

I'm smiling. I can't help it. He's cocked his head, and that stray curl of his hair is falling in those bright green eyes. Jughead Jones is the most beautiful boy I've ever met, and I want to spend the rest of my life with him. Which is what, five minutes?

I jump a little when there's a loud bang, followed by streaks of light filling the sky, illuminating our faces. I can almost pretend it's the Fourth Of July. That the fireworks are to celebrate our beginning as a nation. Not our end as a planet.

There's nothing much for us to say. We talked earlier. We cried. We hugged. What else is there to do? Except for hold onto Jughead, try not to think about Kevin, and- god, pray it's quick. I specifically told Archie not to turn into the human version of a countdown, but I guess the nerves got to him. He pulls away from Veronica, digging in his pocket for his phone. The signal died ages ago. So there's no trending topic on Twitter. Riverdale is a tiny town, we barely had a good connection before the end of the world.

But Archie only wants one thing. Which I think is kind of ridiculous. Why can't he just lie back and let it happen? Why does he want to wait for it? I want to say something, but I bite my lip and lower myself, dragging Jughead with me. I lie on my back, giggling at my stupid bunny ears slippers that I thought were a good choice of footwear. I'm not sure why I'm laughing. I want to cry. Emotions flood me, like a rush of icy water. But I suppress them, blinking at the sky. When Archie mutters something under his breath and Veronica starts sobbing, I squeeze my eyes shut. Jughead holds me tighter. I don't ever want him to let go. I wish we could stay like this for another hour. Just one more hour. Maybe one more morning. One more sunrise and sunset. I want to see the sky change colour one more time. All at once I think of things I've taken advantage of having. Things I'll never get to do. I'll never to go to college. I'll never have a child of my own, I'll never have a real, proper wedding. I should be crying. I want to cry. I want to cry for Jughead, Archie and Veronica. My family, my friends. I want to cry for Kevin.

But I don't have time. The screaming in the distance has gotten progressively louder, and I know it's the end. I don't open my eyes until Archie lays back and pulls Veronica to his chest, holding onto her. Until his phone slips from his grasp, hitting the concrete with a crack. If it was an ordinary day, Archie would cry out. He'd jump up to rescue it, complaining of a splintered screen. Except it's not a normal day, and the redhead only laughs loudly. It's more of a sob than a laugh, but I'll give him credit for it. Soon enough, Jughead is joining in. They're both screaming at the sky, howling like wolves, and it's so ridiculous I started laughing myself. Archie never says how long we've got, and for that...I'm thankful. So I can savour every minute that passes by. Every second.

In our last moments, I let my eyes flicker open. Despite the fear of losing my self awareness, of being swallowed by darkness, I smile at Veronica Lodge. The best thing about this spectacular now, it's that it’s real. Veronica is real. Her sleek dark hair cascading down her back, her laughing green eyes. The crown of flowers still nestled on her head. Archie Andrews is still howling at the sky, challenging the huge dumb ass space rock about to obliterate us. His grinning mouth, warm brown eyes, scruffy red curls shining in the moonlight. So real. My heart flutters when Jughead turns to me, and his eyes are so sincere, so fucking beautiful. I know what he's going to say.

I brace myself for the words, even when the thought of saying them back twists my heart. Jughead opens his mouth, and there are tears trailing down his cheeks. I've never seen Jughead cry. "This is so stupid," he says softly, choking on his tears.

"I feel like we're in one of them shitty disaster movies." rolling his eyes, he grins and I can't help spluttering out a laugh. I want him to say it. One last time.

Jughead holds his breath and chuckles. "I love you," he says, and before I can say anything back, his forehead is pressed against mine, his breath heavy in my face. He wants to kiss me, but there's no time. There's no time for anything- but this.

One last damn time.

"Betty Cooper, I love you." He says. "I love everything about you, and I-

  
~*~

 

Jughead's words are cut off, and that's when I expect it to happen. Well, something did happen, though it's not what I'm expecting. I expect to be blown to pieces, and I'm weirdly okay with it. I've accepted my death. But instead, I feel my body jerk to the side for one swift moment. But that's it. I'm still lying on my back, though something has changed. Something so subtle I barely notice it as first. My attention is only on the seconds ticking by, and that surely it's past nine-thirty by now.

Though as I wait, the seconds get progressively longer, and it feels like it's been nine-thirty for five minutes. I wait for Jughead to speak, to say something. But he's silent.

The thing is about asteroid collisions. I'm not an expert on them, though I was pretty sure when it impacted earth-we were gone. Dead. No second chances. Especially when they estimated the damn thing at 0.370 km. Nemesis was going to kill everyone. That fact was known across the world, it was why there was mass panic. It had been said to be more powerful than multiple nuclear explosions. Plus, it's not like it's suddenly going to miss. Nemesis was going to hit. No sugar-coating. There wasn't even a fifty percent chance of survival.

So I should have felt something, right? I should have felt maybe a whoosh of air, or some kind of indication that it had happened. Then the darkness was supposed to envelop me. I'd imagine a wall of fire perishing everything in its path, including the four of us.

Except that's not what's happened. There's no flash of light blinding me while I'm drowned in an inferno raging from the sky. There's...nothing. I haven't moved. My eyes are still squeezed shut. I can feel sweat drenching my forehead, dripping down my back. I'm gasping for breath, so I know I'm alive. I can hear Archie's soft whining as if he's begging it to just- happen already. A lingering thought hits me from earlier, this time coming to full fruition in my mind. I play the thought over in my head.

 _We haven't moved._ Except the jarring movement where I'd felt myself swing to the side for a single, the entire left side of my body swinging to the side for a second. None of us have moved. But that's not what's scaring me.

 _We haven't moved_. It's everything else that has. I'm no longer lying on the battered metal roofing of Jughead's jeep. I'd still be able to feel it digging into my back.

Unless Nemesis had the power to teleport us, though I'm pretty sceptical because it's a space rock. It's just a big hunk of rock that saw our planet earth and thought; "Oh hey, let's go and make friends!"

But there's no such thing as a teleporting asteroid. Unless you count the films _?_ and I watch for pure guilty pleasure. The second the thought comes to my muddled mind, I retract it automatically, a shiver flying down my spine. Jughead. I think. And it's there- in my head. Jughead Jones. So why, for a moment, why did his name seem blank? Like it was nothing? I try again, just to be sure. Jughead. Jughead, Jughead, Jughead.

I'm going crazy. Maybe it has happened? Maybe somehow, Nemesis is delayed? But that makes it worse! Damn it. I want to open my eyes, but I'm scared I'll meet my maker the second I have a flicker of hope. But I can't help wonder, once again. How have I moved? How have the four of us, still glued together, arms around each other and all- how have we moved as a foursome? We were lying on our backs on the roof of Jughead's jeep. That's the last thing I remember. But I haven't passed out or fallen asleep. I'm still in the same minute as when the asteroid supposedly hit. But somehow, we've moved.

Instead, I'm kneeling on something soft and spongy, moulding into my knees. I can still feel Jughead's arms wrapped around me. I can feel our combined body heat radiating off of the four of us. I can feel. That's my point. I can feel, I can smell, I can taste. Even if it's stale vomit in my throat. But I don't care. Somehow, we're alive. Which doesn't make any sense? Nemesis was supposed to kill us! There's no way we've survived it.

I can't feel the chill grazing against my cheeks anymore. I can't feel it blowing my pigtails into a frenzy. I can't sense it at all. Rather than the biting breeze, there's a clamminess to the air around me. Closed in. I take a deep breath, in through my mouth and out through my nose. What mom taught me when I was having a panic attack.

We're inside.

My head swims suddenly like I'm on a carousel, and for a moment, I swear I can hear something at the corner of my consciousness, getting progressively louder and louder. It takes me a few dizzying seconds to realize it's...clapping. Not just clapping, it's an applause that's suddenly drowning my ears, digging right into my skull. I can't stand it! But I'm too scared to open my eyes. The clapping reverberates around, bouncing off of walls. We're in a room. A large room. I try and imagine it; some kind of bunker? Had we been saved at the last minute? Except not even the elite were going to get lucky in their bunker under the ground. Nemesis was going to blow us all to smithereens, whether we were rich or poor, black or white. We were all going down with it. Not even the president had a chance. So how was it possible that Jughead, Archie Veronica and I, four kids from Riverdale who couldn't be any more mundane. We didn't have any special talents. Like in the movies, when these kids with superpowered abilities are recruited by a top secret agency to blast the asteroid back into space. That's not us. So how? How are we here?

The clapping drones on in my ears, and the urge to cry out overwhelms me, a scream clawing in my throat. I want to lift my head. I want to open my eyes. But my heart is pounding through my chest, my stomach is twisted, vomit in the back of my throat. I'm afraid to speak. I'm afraid to cry. But the clapping. It's driving me crazy. And it keeps going on, rattling in my head. It feels like someone's slamming a brick into the back of my skull. The others don't move either. I still sense them, clutching me, Too terrified to lift their heads. Scared of the unknown, of what they didn't understand. I start to hear an unintelligible noise, like loud chatter. It gets louder, along with the clapping, and I swallow a moan. I can sense over a hundred people standing around us, crowding us like we're animals in a cage. My heart continues to pound relentlessly, panic streaming through me. My head aches. My whole body throbs rythmatically. I can't take it anymore.

Biting pain crawls up my spine when I lift my head slowly, and the chatter and clapping quieten slightly, as if they- whoever 'they' are, are anticipating me looking up. I hold my breath and open my eyes, my vision is bleary at first. But I'm right. Even when it looks likes I'm staring through a foggy mirror, I can see the four walls of a room, an assortment of black blobs dotting around the perimeter. People. Staring at us. I frown back at them, unable to speak as I wait for my eyes to adjust to the harsh light blinding me. We're not on the top of Sweet Water hill anymore. I can make out a blur of light green in front of us, stretching out across the room. I feel a jolt when Jughead looks up too. He's knelt next to me, still clutching me for dear life. I risk a glance at him, but he's not looking at me. He's taking in our surroundings, blinking rapidly at the growing number of people crowded around us. Archie and Veronica eventually straighten up too, inching away from each other, as if they believed either one of them had contracted a deadly disease. It’s like whatever used to hold us together has been ripped away. Suddenly we’re strangers. 

Jughead's arm slips from mine, though I’m expecting it. I was two seconds from wrenching mine from his. I know I should care. The only person who makes me feel safe is him. He's my anchor. Except when he shuffles away from me, muttering to himself and grasping at strands of his hair like he's having an internal mental breakdown, I feel nothing. Zilch. For the boy I’m supposed to love. Something has changed inside of me, and I didn't even notice it. I myself want to get as far away from these three as possible, and I have no idea why.

I stay very still. The crowd have gone silent, and my stomach feels like it's caving in on itself. It's an gathering of black, I realise. Everyone's wearing black. I let my gaze skim over the crowd of strangers while my heart threatens to pound right out of my chest. The others are completely mute. The four of us have successfully managed to keep our distance from each other, and neither of us speak. I know I should want to talk to Jughead, but there's a sickening feeling growing in my gut. There's a deep crevice in my mind, in my heart, where my feelings for him should be. But instead there is nothing. 

And it terrifies me.

I count the number of our breaths in sync with each other, while I scan the crowd for answers. Because I'm too weak to stand, too frightened to speak. My tongue is in knots.

Eventually, however, I catch a flash of scarlet red in the midst of harrowing black. She sticks out like a sore thumb. The woman is tall with long brown hair. Her dress is the colour of blood, clinging to a slim frame. She's smiling at me, at us. And there's a deeply unsettling feeling starting to rip me apart inside. She takes a step forward with one stiletto clacking on the tiled floor, and in turn, I can't help crawling back, on my hands and knees, like a child. The others stay where they are, but I can’t care less about them. _I need to get out!_ But she quickens her pace, closing the distance between us. By the time she's standing a foot in front of us, there's a giant triumphant grin stretched across ruby red lips. Next to me, Jughead lets out a soft whine, and I glance at him, to see the boy scowling at her, his eyes narrowed and questioning.

"Hello." The woman's voice catches me off guard. It's soft and sweet. Sultry. Though I don't trust her smile. I don't trust anything about her. She regards us with a grin and spreads out her arms like she's about to wrap the four of us in a bone-crushing hug. 

"Welcome back!"


	2. Chapter 2

Is anyone still reading this? I recently came back to it lmao. I lost inspiration way back in June, and I started writing more :D


	3. Chapter 3

Hi! I’ve recently came back to this fic, after getting inspiration again lmao. Are ya’ll still reading? *eyes emoji* let me know if you are! If not, I’ll concentrate on my bigger fics. But I really want to write for it again :D

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed, please leave kudos, and a comment telling me what you think :D I really want to continue this one, so eep, please make yourself known if you'd like more!


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